Tourism in Malaysia

Batu Caves, a popular tourist attraction in Selangor

Tourism in Malaysia is a major industry and contributor to the Malaysian economy. Malaysia was once ranked 9th in the world for tourist arrivals. ^[1] In 2017, the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Malaysia 26 out of 141 countries using its Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) which measures the various components and policies of a country that are in place to allow for the sustainable development of its travel and tourism sectors. ^[2]

In an effort to diversify Malaysia's economy and reduce its dependency on exports, the government pushed to increase tourism in Malaysia. This led tourism to become Malaysia's second largest source of foreign exchange income. ^[3] In 2022, tourism contributed 14% to Malaysia's overall GDP. ^[4]

The government agency in charge of promoting tourism in Malaysia is Tourism Malaysia or the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB). On 20 May 1987, the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism (MOCAT) was established and TDC moved to this new ministry. TDC existed from 1972 to 1992, when it became the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB), through the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board Act, 1992.

In 1990, Malaysia launched a tourism campaign called "Fascinating Malaysia. Year of Festivals" which was considered a success and brought in the arrivals of 7.4 million tourists. ^[5] Five years later, in 1994, Malaysia launched another campaign themed "Fascinating Malaysia. Naturally More" which welcomed 10.22 million tourists. ^[5] In 2007, Malaysia launched its most notable tourism campaign titled "Malaysia Truly Asia". ^[5] This campaign was launched in conjunction with Malaysia's 50th year of independence and was heavily promoted and advertised. ^[5] It exceeded expectations and was a massive success, chartering the arrivals of 20.97 million tourists. ^[5]

Types of tourism

Medical tourism

Main article: Medical tourism in Malaysia

Medical tourism is popular in Malaysia, with the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council reporting an arrival of 641,000 foreign patients in 2011, 728,800 in 2012, 881,000 in 2013 and 882,000 in 2014. ^[6] Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council, a government agency with the aim of promoting medical tourism, was launched in 2009 as an initiative by the Ministry of Health. ^[7]

Tourism statistics

Tourist arrivals

In 2016, Malaysia recorded 26,757,392 tourist arrivals, a growth of 4.0% compared to 25,721,251 in 2015. The table lists the top 15 arrivals to Malaysia by their origin countries.

—	Denotes that the country was not within the top 15 arrivals for that year

Foreign tourist arrivals in Malaysia

Country	Visitors (10/2024)	Visitors (2023) [8]	Visitors (2022) [9]	Visitors (2021) [10]	Visitors (2020) [11]	Visitors (2019) [12]	Visitors (2018) [13]	Visitors (2017) [14]	Visitors (2016) [15]	Visitors (2015) [16]
Singapore	7,349,760	8,308,230	5,222,991	16,308	1,545,255	10,163,882	10,615,986	12,441,713	13,272,961	12,930,754
Indonesia	3,000,972	3,108,165	1,481,739	11,025	711,723	3,623,277	3,277,689	2,796,570	3,049,964	2,788,033
China	2,822,247	1,474,114	211,363	7,701	405,149	3,114,257	2,944,133	2,281,666	2,124,942	1,677,163
Thailand	1,385,554	1,551,282	715,528	59,607	394,413	1,884,306	1,914,692	1,836,522	1,780,800	1,343,569
Brunei	939,547	811,833	301,757	773	136,020	1,216,123	1,382,031	1,660,506	1,391,016	1,133,555
India	914,993	671,846	324,548	3,916	155,883	735,309	600,311	552,739	638,578	722,141
South Korea	397,406	400,853	146,384	3,028	119,750	673,065	616,783	484,528	444,439	421,161
Taiwan	337,852	283,380	48,132	563	60,090	382,916	383,922	332,927	300,861	283,224
Philippines	327,821	339,282	159,442	2,317	66,051	421,908	396,062	370,559	417,446	554,917
Australia	304,057	343,438	152,265	1,321	72,680	368,271	351,500	351,232	377,727	486,948
United Kingdom	290,400	272,297	134,667	2,676	63,868	346,485	361,335	358,818	400,269	401,019
Vietnam	288,126	344,361	173,763	583	64,184	400,346	375,578	248,927	216,877	229,926
Japan	256,390	229,892	83,309	3,114	74,383	424,694	394,540	392,777	413,768	483,569
United States	222,744	229,476	108,141	2,030	48,810	269,928	253,384	198,203	217,075	237,768
France	140,134	115,145	55,087	843	28,237	141,661	139,408	131,668	134,257	151,474
Germany	128,511	125,987	57,780	824	27,458	130,221	128,895	109,816	130,276	144,910
Bangladesh	110,047	142,748	59,033	1,509	17,634	179,000	150,053	111,836	114,607	147,152
Russia	89,183	109,689	33,003	399	28,694	79,984	72,785	67,564	50,893	55,263
Myanmar	88,252	86,298	36,765	377	9,745	46,257	38,513	42,314	49,175	66,553
Pakistan	80,950	107,657	60,535	2,043	17,777	105,757	74,458	53,453	58,388	69,112
Netherlands	71,901	68,448	31,070	466	14,486	82,110	81,651	75,885	72,200	84,584
Canada	69,970	71,981	30,656	471	16,631	87,568	84,705	67,056	72,337	79,557
Italy	61,040	48,440	18,866	300	8,971	54,710	52,055	44,638	42,747	51,946
Cambodia	54,163	72,627	39,823	250	16,548	97,097	90,113	42,004	61,844	75,059
Saudi Arabia	53,872	51,375	35,980	687	23,390	121,444	112,263	100,549	123,878	99,754
Spain	52,045	40,762	20,474	147	6,367	43,616	42,267	35,149	28,018	36,692
Sri Lanka	46,429	55,050	24,906	385	8,142	26,058	28,376	43,738	33,340	51,337
New Zealand	38,963	42,955	18,238	196	8,794	50,140	50,698	55,923	53,352	60,846
Poland	27,143	21,472	8,472	161	7,539	27,033	24,364	20,067	19,768	19,920
Kazakhstan	24,738	8,298	2,836	141	6,065	18,138	13,861	12,577	10,717	15,410
Switzerland	23,423	23,312	10,486	197	5,263	25,659	25,680	20,775	26,628	28,141
Belgium	22,019	17,726	7,543	122	3,734	22,082	20,624	17,327	14,283	18,789
Iran	21,212	19,908	7,570	314	7,078	46,559	67,094	59,023	47,102	65,066
Turkey	19,824	17,275	7,169	286	3,152	15,290	15,406	14,594	13,029	15,395
Egypt	19,155	20,783	11,117	652	6,204	29,831	27,909	23,760	30,231	25,637
Ireland	17,679	18,127	8,739	137	3,735	25,659	19,687	20,854	18,208	22,746
Nepal	17,247	18,488	11,379	198	5,067	20,437	19,914	20,553	60,476	93,159
Sweden	16,344	18,006	8,083	253	9,292	29,592	32,665	34,304	32,861	35,586
Denmark	16,129	16,053	7,717	214	6,061	22,314	23,566	23,219	21,612	24,113
Laos	15,811	16,781	7,010	425	5,424	26,955	23,782	39,460	31,061	24,448
Iraq	15,612	12,562	6,008	452	3,628	21,421	22,291	18,555	22,533	20,098
South Africa	12,671	15,155	7,937	168	3,876	22,674	21,977	21,560	20,053	20,625
Ukraine	11,166	11,129	4,381	298	6,326	16,019	14,529	13,068	12,971	10,672
Norway	10,792	9,981	4,960	136	3,552	14,585	15,202	14,121	14,709	18,622
United Arab Emirates	5,826	7,877	3,230	86	679	11,174	9,386	8,555	14,150	15,769
Grand Total	20,608,299	20,141,846	10,074,964	134,728	4,332,722	26,100,784	25,832,354	25,948,459	26,757,392	25,721,251

Past foreign tourist arrivals

Year	Arrivals (in million)	% change
2019	26.1	1.0%
2018	25.8	0.4%
2017	25.9	3.0%
2016	26.8	4.0%
2015	25.7	6.3%
2014	27.4	6.7%
2013	25.7	2.7%
2012	25.0	1.3%
2011	24.7	0.6%
2010	24.6	3.9%
2009	23.6	7.2%
2008	22.1	5.1%
2007	20.9	19.5%
2006	17.5	6.8%
2005	16.4	4.6%
2004	15.7	48.5%
2003	10.6	20.4%
2002	13.3	4.0%
2001	12.9	25.0%
2000	10.2	28.9%

Most visited destinations and attractions

Further information: List of tourist attractions in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur was ranked the 6th most-visited city in the world on the Mastercard Destination Cities Index in 2019. ^[17] Since the 1990s, the city has played host to many international sporting, political and cultural events, including the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championships, 1998 Commonwealth Games, Formula One since 1999 to 2017, Malaysian Moto GP, 2001 Southeast Asian Games, and 2017 Southeast Asian Games. Kuala Lumpur has undergone rapid development in recent decades and is home to the tallest twin buildings in the world, the Petronas Towers which have since become an iconic symbol of Malaysian development. Kuala Lumpur is well connected with neighboring urban metro regions such as Greater Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley via the rapidly expanding Klang Valley Integrated Transit System.

• Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest building in the world from 1998 to 2004 and the tallest twin buildings.
• KLCC Park, an urban park in Kuala Lumpur City Centre features lake symphony, jogging track or footpath, ornamental water, children playground, a mosque, and surrounding areas such as Aquaria KLCC, also Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
• Independence Square, located in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad Building near Jamek Mosque, it was here that the Union Flag was lowered and the Malaysian flag hoisted for the first time at midnight on 31 August 1957, surrounding the square are many buildings of historical interest, including Royal Selangor Club, Kuala Lumpur City Gallery, St. Mary's Anglican Cathedral, National Textile Museum, and not far Old Kuala Lumpur Railway Station.
• Bukit Bintang, it has long been Kuala Lumpur's most prominent retail belt that is home to many landmark shopping centres, al-fresco cafés, bars, night markets, food street, mamak stalls as well as hawker-type eateries.
• National Palace, is the official residence of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia).
• Petaling Street, a Chinatown located in old dowtown near Merdeka Square, it area has dozens of restaurants and food stalls, serving local favourites such as Hokkien mee, Ikan Bakar (barbecued fish), asam laksa and curry noodles.
• Kampung Baru, a Malay village in central city, just opposite KLCC.
• Perdana Botanical Gardens, the first large-scale recreational park since 1888, it contains sculpted and manicured gardens, lake garden, and a host of attractions.

Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley

• Batu Caves
• Sepang International Circuit
• Putrajaya
• Sunway Lagoon
• National Zoo of Malaysia

Genting Highlands

Genting Highladns is a hill station located on the peak of Mount Ulu Kali in the Titiwangsa Mountains, central Peninsular Malaysia, at 1800 metres elevation. Located in the state of Pahang, it was established in 1965 The primary tourist attraction is Resorts World Genting, a hill resort where casinos and theme parks are situated and where gambling is permitted.

Others

Bird's-eye view of Kuching, Sarawak

• Alor Setar – capital of Kedah, the state of the paddy fields
• George Town – the capital city of Penang, one of the country's UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 7 July 2008.
• Ipoh – capital of Perak, famous for its Chinese food, tin mines and limestone mountains and caves
• Johor Bahru – capital of Johor, and gateway to Singapore
• Kangar – capital of Perlis, and gateway to Thailand
• Kota Kinabalu – capital of Sabah, nearest city to Mount Kinabalu
• Kota Bharu – capital of Kelantan, and gateway to Thailand
• Kuala Terengganu – capital of Terengganu, famous for the turtles and beaches
• Kuantan – capital of Pahang, noted for its many beaches
• Kuching – capital of Sarawak, the Cat City of Malaysia
• Malacca City – a historical city in Malaysia. This is the other cultural World Heritage Site in Malaysia since 7 July 2008.
• Seremban – the capital of Negeri Sembilan, and the nearest cities to Port Dickson
• Putrajaya – the administrative centre of Malaysia
• Victoria – capital of Labuan, the offshore financial centre of Malaysia

Beside the main cities, there other town and places in Malaysia offer some special tourist attraction. Such as in Taiping for their landscape and local attraction. Teluk Intan for their Leaning tower. Genting Highlands, Cameron Highlands, Bukit Tinggi in Pahang and Kundasang in Sabah for a cool climate. Muar in Johor is famous for its food. Miri is the official tourism-city and resort city of Sarawak and Sibu in Sarawak is famous for its landscape and parks.

Islands and beaches

Teluk Cempedak Beach, Kuantan

South Beach, Perhentian Besar

Malaysia has several tropical islands. Some of the islands in Malaysia are:

• Kapas
• Labuan
• Langkawi
• Lang Tengah
• Mabul
• Pangkor
• Penang
• Perhentian
• Rawa
• Redang
• Sipadan
• Tenggol
• Tioman
• Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park

National parks and nature reserves

Further information: List of national parks in Malaysia

Tourists in Taman Negara

• Kubah National Park, Sarawak
• Bako National Park, Sarawak – famed for its wildlife, especially Bornean bearded pigs and proboscis monkeys
• Batang Ai National Park, Sarawak.
• Gunung Buda National Park, Sarawak.
• Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak
• Gunung Gading National Park, Sarawak
• Lambir Hills National Park, Sarawak
• Niah Caves National Park, Sarawak
• Loagan Bunut National Park, Sarawak
• Kinabalu National Park, Sabah – home of 4100 metre peak Mount Kinabalu
• Taman Negara National Park – the world's oldest rainforest, spanning Kelantan, Pahang and Terengganu
• Endau Rompin National Park, Johor
• Taman Eko Rimba, Kuala Lumpur - the nature reserve in the middle of Kuala Lumpur. The nature reserve is located near Kuala Lumpur Tower.
• Kinabenuwa Wetland & Mangrove Forest, Labuan

Other places of interest

• A' Famosa Resort, Malacca
• Aquaria KLCC, KL
• Bakelalan, Sarawak
• Bario, Sarawak
• Batu Caves, Selangor
• Batu Ferringhi, Penang
• Berjaya Hills Resort, Pahang
• Berjaya Times Square, KL
• Bukit Bintang, KL
• Cameron Highlands, Pahang
• Central Market, KL
• Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, Malacca
• Chin Swee Caves Temple, Pahang
• Crystal Mosque, Terengganu
• Dhammikarama Burmese Temple, Penang
• Fort Cornwallis, Penang
• Fraser's Hill, Pahang
• Genting Highlands, Pahang
• Gurney Drive, Penang
• Islamic Arts Museum, KL
• Kampung Baru, KL
• Kek Lok Si, Penang
• Kuala Gandah Elephant Sanctuary, Pahang
• Kuala Lumpur Bird Park, KL
• Kuala Lumpur Butterfly Park, KL
• Kuala Lumpur Tower, KL
• Labuan Bird Park, Labuan
• Labuan Botanical Gardens, Labuan
• Labuan Financial Park Complex, Labuan
• Labuan Maritime Museum, Labuan
• Labuan Kwang Fook Kong Temple, Labuan
• Labuan War Cemetery, Labuan
• Long Pasia, Sipitang, Sabah
• Masjid Negara, KL
• Merdeka Square, KL
• Mines Wellness City, Selangor
• Muzium Negara, KL
• National Monument, KL
• Penang Hill, Penang
• Perdana Botanical Gardens, KL
• Petronas Twin Towers, KL
• Poh San Teng Temple, Malacca
• Snake Temple, Penang
• Sri Mahamariamman Temple, KL
• Stadium Merdeka, KL
• Sultan Abdul Samad Building, KL
• Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Mosque, Selangor
• Sunway Lagoon, Selangor
• Thean Hou Temple, KL
• Wat Chetawan, Selangor
• Wat Phothivihan, Kelantan
• Zoo Negara, Selangor

See also

• List of museums in Malaysia
• Visa policy of Malaysia
• Tourist Police (Malaysia)
• Malaysian Tourist Guides Council

References

1. Mohd Ayob, Norizawati; Masron, Tarmiji (2014). Othuman Mydin, M.A.; Marzuki, A. (eds.). "Issues of Safety and Security: New Challenging to Malaysia Tourism Industry". SHS Web of Conferences. 12: 01083. doi:10.1051/shsconf/20141201083. ISSN   2261-2424.
2. Crotti, Roberto; Misrahi, Tiffany, eds. (2017). The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 (PDF). Geneva: World Economic Forum. p. 9. ISBN   978-1-944835-08-8.
3. Hanafiah, Mohd Hafiz Mohd; Harun, Mohd Fauzi Mohd (2010). "Tourism Demand in Malaysia: A cross-sectional pool time-series analysis" (PDF). International Journal of Trade, Economics, and Finance. 1 (2): 200.
4. Sunbiz. "Tourism rebounded in 2022, contributed 14% to GDP". thesun.my. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
5. "Tourism Malaysia Corporate Site". www.tourism.gov.my. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
6. "Statistics". Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council. Archived from the original on 3 August 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
7. Sarwar, Abdullah (2013). "Medical Tourism in Malaysia: Prospect and Challenges". Iranian Journal of Public Health. 42 (8): 795–805. ISSN   2251-6085. PMC   4441909 . PMID   26056632.
8. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2023)" (PDF). Retrieved 7 June 2024.
9. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2022)" (PDF). Retrieved 7 June 2024.
10. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2021)" (PDF). Retrieved 28 December 2022.
11. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2020)" (PDF). Retrieved 28 December 2022.
12. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2019)" (PDF). Retrieved 25 March 2020.
13. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2018)" (PDF). Retrieved 21 February 2019.
14. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2017)" (PDF). Retrieved 18 April 2018.
15. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2016)" (PDF). Retrieved 4 March 2018.
16. "Top 45 Tourist Arrivals (2015)" (PDF). Retrieved 4 March 2018.
17. "Mastercard Destination Cities Index 2019" (PDF). MasterCard. 4 September 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 September 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2020.

• Top 15 arrivals by nationality

External links

• Tourism Malaysia
• Pahang Tourism official website